Skate



UNITED STATES PATENT oEEioE.

HIRAM CLARK, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

SKATE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 31,699, dated March 19, 1861.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM CLARK, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Skates; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eXact `description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, making apart of this specilication, in which- Figure l, is a side elevation, with a portion ofthe foot-piece and of the washer f, and the thimble D, removed. Figs. 2, 3, and at, are some of the various styles which may be desired for the form of the thimbles. Fig. 5, is another plan for fastening the heel-spur s.

The nature of this invention consists in the employment of a thimble, in skates, encircling t-he posts, or studs, between the foot'- piece and the runner, and in such a manner as to form a thorough brace for the said foot-piece, nearly from side to side, and so as to entirely relieve the studs orposts from all lateral or other shocks, or strains, which in this construction, come wholly upon the thimble and through its agency are centered upon the runner, whereby it becomes almost impossible to break off the studs, or to split the footpiece; and, while it provides the greatest possible strength to the parts, with a given weight of metal, it also pro (luces an article at once terse and tasty.

The thimbles D, and E, may be cast of any suitable metal, and, to avoid unnecessary weight, they should be made very thin, as seen in Fig. l, at D, and the lower end is milled out, so as to form the lip o, on each side, which clasps the runner. The edge of the upper end is made cylindrical so as to ft into the annular groove o, formed in the foot-piece F.

The runner may be forged after any desired pattern, and the posts p, are welded or otherwise forged onto the runner.

The posts should be no thicker' than the runner at their junction, but may be wider, as shown in Fig. l. They are rounded toward the top so as to iit the hole through the foot-piece F, and washer f', which latter is bedded into E. The post p, projects through j, (which is countersunk in the upper sideg) and is riveted to it, thus lirinly securing the parts together. This heel washer j', may be of oblong shape, so as to receive the heelspur, or screw s, if desired, which is put through from the under side, and at a proper distance from the post p, to bring the edge of the thimble into. the slot e, of the screwhead, thereby holding it securely in position. Or, ifV desired the post p, may be placed farther forward so as to cause the thimble to clear the head of the spur s, entirely, `and a little plate, (as shown in Fig. 5,) with a rib which shall exactly fit the slot e,-is placed across the head of the said screw s, and is fixed to the foot-piece F, by two screws, the rib of said plate preventing 8, from turning. This arrangement may be .desirable as a mattei' of convenience in removing the said heel-spur s, in case it should ever get broken or otherwise injured, and substituting a new one, without disarrangw ing the other parts.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The employment, in skates, of a thimble, or its equivalent, encircling the posts, or

studs, between the foot-piece and the runner,

for the purposes herein set forth.

HIRAM CLARK. Vitnesses:

JOHN BRAYsI-nxw, GEO. IV. MARTIN. 

